Box-handle



(No Model.)

W. H. HART. BOX HANDLE No. 420,062. Patented Jan. 28, 1890.

N. FEIEHS. Prmwumgm her. Washington. D. C.

NVITED STATES 'WILLIAM H. HART, OF NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT.

BOX-HANDLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 426,062, dated January 28, 1890.

Application filed January 26, 1889- Serial No. 297,651. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. HART, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Britain, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Box-Handles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in box-handles of the class which are adapted to be secured to a box for a time to facilitate handling the box, and then removed for application to other boxes; and the objects of my invention are to form a simple and convenient box-handle of sheet metal, and particularly to make a handle specially designed to be attached to that class of boxes known as double boxes, in which the cover and box are substantially of the same depth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a box and cover with my handle attached to the cover thereof. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of my box-handle; Fig. 3, a side elevation. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of my box-handle, with a modification in the form of the grasping portion. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the same; and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of my handle with the grasping portion hinged thereto.

My handle is specially designed for use upon paper boxes or boxes of other thin material when the boxes are piled one upon the other upon shelves as, for instance, in stores-to enable the box to be taken from the shelves more conveniently and with less danger of breaking the box.

I prefer to form my handle of sheet metal bent into the form of an angle-plate, with one member thereof slit or divided into three or more claspingarms 6 6 and 7 for clasping a box-cover by being slipped upon one edge, said arms all projecting from the angle of said plate and with the other member formed into a grasping device.

In Figs. 1, 2, and 3 the grasping device is in the form of a flat plate 8, having a perforation 9, Fig. 1, to facilitate handling. WVhen divided, as shown, the arms 6 6 of the clasping member are designed to extend up into the cover upon the inside thereof, as indicated by the broken lines in Fig. 1, and may be of any desired length, not exceeding the depth of the box-cover. The other arm 7 is designed to go upon the outside of the box-cover, as shown in Fig. 1, and it is preferably made shorter than the other arm, so as not to cover the label upon the end of the box in case the box is labeled. These arms 6 and 7 should be formed so nearly in one plane that when slipped upon the box-cover, as described, they will press firmly against the material of which the box-cover is formed, and thereby hold the handle securely in place.

WVhen the boxes are piled one upon the other, with the ends to which the handle is applied even with the edge of the shelf, it will readily be seen that the boxes and' handles are in a convenient position for withdrawing any particular box by taking hold of the grasping portion of the handle. In case the bottom shelf should be wider than the others, or in case the boxes should be placed back upon the shelf, so that the shelf projects in front of the boxes, the grasping portion of the handles on the bottom row of boxes, if made in the form shown in Figs. l to 3, would lie so closely to the upper surface of the shelf that they could not be conveniently grasped. For use in such a place I prefer the form of grasping portion shown in Figs. 4 and 5, in which I roll over the outer end into the form of a hooked finger-grasp 10, which may be perforated or solid, as desired. WVith this form of grasping. portion the box is conveniently removed, although it maybe lying immediately upon a projecting shelf.

In Fig. 6 I have shown the grasping portion as hinged to the clasping member by ahingejoint 11, like that employed in hinges. This joint, preferably, is so stiff that the grasping portion will stay in whatever position it may be set, and therefore when the box is placed on a shelf that projects in front of the boxes the grasping portion may be set so as to incline upwardly a little, and thus be elevated somewhat above the shelf, and thereby facilitate handling the box.

'WhileI prefer to form the device of wrought sheet metal, I do not wish to limit myself to the use of said material, as it is evident that it may be of other material-as, for instance, cast metal.

I am aware that prior patents show drawerpulls as formed of sheet metal with a handle portion and projecting prongs, some or all of which were clinched or bent upon the inside of the drawer-front; also, that another prior patent shows a drinking-straw holder with three clasping-arms for securing the holder to the edge of a tumbler. All of said prior art is hereby disclaimed.

I claim as my invention 7 The herein-described box-handle, consisting of an angle-plate, one member of.which is provided with thin flat arms 6 6 and 7, extending from the angle of said plate outwardly, the arms 6 6 being adapted to extend upwardly from the lower edge of the cover on the inside WM. H. HART.

Witnesses:

JAMES SHEPARD, J OHN EDWARDS, Jr. 

